California inmate dies while awaiting execution

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A 61-year-old inmate has died while awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison.

Prison officials say James Leslie Karis was found unresponsive alone in his cell early Thursday. The cause of death won't be known until an autopsy, but officials say there were no obvious signs of suicide.

Karis was sentenced to death by a Sacramento County jury in 1982 for kidnapping two Placerville women, raping one, and shooting both in the back.